The Last Prince and a Common Princess
by Tsun-sama
Summary: Set in an alternate universe, Sasuke's the last prince of Konoha, his family was murdered by his brother, Itachi. On Sasuke's 16th birthday, the council demanded he finds a wife, and a certain commoner slowly changed his life revealing hidden secrets.
1. Chapter 1

Hey guys!

I started this fanfic from a fanart I drew a while ago, it was first posted on tumblr, and I though "hey, why not post on too" and so here we are :P

to be quite honest, I'm really lazy and rarely update on so please don't expect a lot from me. Also, whenever I update on tumblr, I'll also add in a small sketch for every new chapter, be sure to check it out :) ( .com)

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Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Note: I have a habit of using honorific, so I'll always use "-sama" and "-san", because I like to keep anime in the world of anime... even though this is fanfiction D: Also, I'm not 100% confident about the positions, and my grammar so I apologize before hand :)

Chapter 1:

The castle was on fire, not a single scream could be heard, as every single person were silenced. The bodies of the king and queen of Konoha laid lifeless in a pool of cold blood in front of Sasuke, with his brother staring back. Never again will Sasuke forget those eyes, blood shed eyes stained with hatred and despair. Those words echoes in his head every night, his voice like poison, eating him alive and kept him restless for the past 10 years. Sasuke's legs couldn't move from sheer horror, all he could do was brace for the worse.

_"My foolish brother...If you want to kill me...curse me! Hate me! And live a long and unsightly life...Run away...run away...and cling to your pitiful life."_

"Sasuke-sama, Sasuke-sama!" Sitting by himself in an empty room filled with useless books and documents, Sasuke pinched his glabella from all those frowning.

"What is it." He let out an exhausted sigh. His private advisor, Ebisu cleared his throat, obviously quite upset being ignored.

"Do you understand what I have just said?" he asked.

"Yes, Whatever..." Sasuke replied with a grunt.

"Sasuke-sama! please pay attention, you cannot live your life our like a child, you'll be ruling this land soon!" Ebisu started nagging, and when ever he nags, he'll start from history of the Uchiha family.

"Your father, our brave king fought courageously against the enemy, slaughtered everyone without mercy, carrying only the determination to protect this land-" He was interrupted with a knock on the door.

"Come in." Just in time, Sasuke thought. Who knows when Ebisu will stop this time. Kakashi, Sasuke's assistant and tutor entered the room with books and stationery as well as a smug under his mask.

"Sorry to interrupt you important meeting, but it's time for Sasuke-sama's lesson, if you don't mind, Advisor Ebisu." Kakashi gestured Ebisu to leave the room.

"Very well. We will continue this another time. Excuse me." Ebisu gave Kakashi a glare before exiting the room.

"I think Ebisu's starting to hate me for interrupting again." Kakashi chuckled under his mask.

"Whatever." Sasuke laid back against his chair with his feet rested on the table. Kakashi made his way over to the young prince, with that grin still attached to his face.

"But Ebisu does have a point you know," he tapped Sasuke's feet with a ruler.

"You will not be a prince forever, Sasuke-sama. It's time to prepare to be a king. You'll turn 16 in less than a week away." Brought up as a spoiled prince who doesn't care about anyone, Sasuke assert his eyes away from Kakashi's from guilt. Since the day the rest of the Uchiha's were killed by his own brother, Itachi for the throne. Sasuke was saved in time by Kakashi and his army. No one knew if Itachi had survived the fall and escaped Konoha, or if he is still alive, out in hiding. His body was never retrieved, but who knows, maybe it was eaten by the crows, they suspected. Since the massacre, Kakashi has been the closest thing to family for Sasuke, everyone single one of his blood relatives died in Itachi's hands.

"Whatever, just start the lesson." Sasuke gave his arm a good stretch, he had been sitting on that chair for a good few hours, listening to Ebisu's report.

"Before that, there's something you should know." Kakashi set the stationery and books on the table before pulling out an envelope.

"Look through this before I make copies." Curious, Sasuke scanned his eyes through the paper.

"What is the meaning of this?!" Sasuke's eyes popped opened as he read through the letter, cursing too.

"Oh~ were you not informed about this? Sa-su-ke-sa-ma?" Kakashi spoke playfully.

"I have no intention of inviting all these women into my castle! and to think I would marry one?!" Saske scrunched up the letter and threw it aside like it was none of his concern.

"Sasuke-sama, you know very well that it is the rule. The prince of Uchiha must marry a woman by the age of 17, and he must have a fiancee by the age of 16, that's barely a week away." Kakashi sigh with frustration. No matter how hard he tries to persuade Sasuke to do something, he'll stubbornly refuse.

"I'm the last prince of his country, I can change the law." Sasuke spat.

Kakashi felt like pulling every strain of his hair, trained to act calm and composed in front of people, he grinned.

"And as the last prince of this country, it is your duty to continue the royal bloodline." Sasuke felt chills up his spine when Kakashi spoke, as much as he hates to admit it, Kakashi's right.

"...fine." Sasuke agreed reluctantly.

"Very well, I shall send out the invites."

Konoha's morning market has always been lively, everyone greeted each other with a smile on their faces. Through the crowded streets, Hinata tries to squeeze through hundreds of people.

"E-Excuse me, P-Please let me pass." she mumbled, too scared to offend anyone if she spoke in a louder voice.

"P-Please let me through!" her body were crushed, forget about protecting the groceries, she can barely keep herself in one piece. Hinata forcefully pushed (in her own way) through more crowds who ignored her, but failed as she was pushed back instead.

"Are you alright miss?" a pair of strong arms hooked onto her arms, preventing her from falling into the muddy puddle. Hinata looked up above her, as her eyes met with a pair of blue eyes, as bright as the sky, staring back down at her with a radiant smile.

"N-Naruto-kun?!" Hinata almost jumped out of Naruto's arms. The blond male only laughed.

"I seemed okay." Naruto was usually seen wearing his signature black (or sometimes blue) and orange attire, it was rare to see him in uniform. Hinata was so mesmerized by him, she almost forgot to breath.

"T-thank you for helping me." she blushed.

"Anytime, grocery shopping?" he looked over her shoulders at the crowd of people, Hinata shyly nodded back.

"I-I just need to get some flowers, b-but it seems that there's going to be a special o-occasion or something, b-buying flowers this time of month." Trying to stop stuttering was a challenge enough, but avoiding Naruto's gaze was a a little too difficult task for Hinata.

"Hmmmm, what kind of flowers were you looking for?" Naruto curiously asked.

"L-Lillies." she mumbled.

"Okay, leave it to me." Naruto brushed his nose with confidence and rolled up his sleeves, making his way through while screaming at the top of his lungs. Hinata bit the bottom of her lip and clinched onto her dress, worrying when his voice faded away in a distance.

"Got it!" she saw a bouquet of white lilies raise up in the air.

"Sorry to keep you waiting!" Naruto was covered with bruises and dirt all over his face and uniform.

"I-I'm sorry about your uniform." she tried brushing off the dirt off him.

"It's alright. Here." Hinata felt a warm fuzzy feeling in her heart when he handed the fresh lilies to her.

"T-thank you." she blushed and offered to pay back the money, but Naruto insisted she keep it.

"Well, I better head back, or else Sasuke will be sure to slit my throat!" Naruto chuckled followed by a loud growl from his stomach.

"I-If you don't mind, p-please accept this. As gratitude f-for helping me." Hinata handed him an apple she bought just a while ago.

"Hehe, thanks, Hinata!" Hinata felt her head getting light from all that blushing.

"I'll see you later!" Naruto waved good bye to her as they parted ways, Hinata waved back with a small smile.

The same date every year, Hinata visits where no one else would visit. She placed the bouquet of lilies onto a tomb stone.

"Father, mother, I'm here to see you again." she traced the names of her parents with her delicate fingers. The death of her parents were vague to her, all she could remember was lying in a pool of her own parent's blood. Hinata was taken in by a kind lady named Kurenai. Hinata remembered having a sister, whether she was alive or dead still remains unknown, her body couldn't be found anywhere. Hinata prayed on her parent's tomb, she often tells stories to her parents about her current life, especially Naruto.

"Thank you for protecting me until this day." A strong gust of wind blew her basket of groceries over, causing the fruits to tumble down hill. Hinata acted quickly, she tried to get on her feet but tripped by the hem of her dress, she fell face first onto the grass. The apple didn't roll far, it stopped under someone's feet.

"Is this yours?" a voice approached Hinata.

"Y-Yes, S-Sorry." she quickly stood up and apologizes. In front of her stood a very tall man (Hinata's not very tall herself), everything about him reminds Hinata of a shadow, more precisely, the total opposite of the radiant Naruto. He was dressed in a different attire, some sort of nobleman, Hinata thought. He looked down at her, in some sort of foul mood, Hinata guessed. He gestured the apple in his hand, no longer wanting to hold on to it.

"T-Thank you." Hinata snapped out from her observation and accepted the apple from him. As soon as the apple left his palm, he snapped his arm back to his sides and attend to his horse, grazing on the nearby grass.

_I thought I was the only one who knew about this place..._

Hinata stared down at her badly bruised apple.

"Oi, Sasuke!" Hinata heard a familiar voice growing louder. Naruto came galloping on his horse towards them.

"N-Naruto-kun?!" Hinata was surprised to see him.

"Oh? Hinata? what are you doing there?" Naruto set his horse aside and got to the same level as them.

"N-Nothing, I-I was just doing some errands..." Hinata avert her eyes towards Sasuke.

"Hm, is that so...anyways, Sasuke! what are you doing? running off all of a sudden." Naruto gave a friendly nudge to his 'friend'.

"My horse went berserk and decided to lead me here." he spoke bluntly.

"Well, what ever it is, Kakashi-sensei said he wants us back before tea time, so let's go, I'll swap horses with you. See you later, Hinata!" This has been the second time Naruto waved good bye to her, Hinata felt quite content being able to see the one she loves twice. Sasuke was the first to leave the area, followed by Naruto nagging close behind. Hinata couldn't help but smile at the two.

_I better return quickly!_

"Who was that you were talking to?" Sasuke suddenly asked out of the blues on their way back tot he castle.

"Huh? you mean Hinata? she's someone I know...why? you interested?" Naruto laughed playfully.

"I'm not in the mood to play with you, moron." Sasuke snared.

_Something about her is making me feel strange..._

For the first time, Sasuke felt a disturbance in his ice cold heart.

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I hope there isn't much changes to the format in this fic...I copied and past from my tumblr page :P

Thank you for reading! I'll upload chapter 2 depending on how chapter 1 goes :)


	2. Chapter 2

Thank you for the reviews! I hope you guys enjoyed chapter 1 ^-^ Chapter 2's a little shorter but I hope you'll enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

Please excuse my terrible writing.

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Chapter 2:

"I-I'm home!" Hinata closed the wooden door behind her.

"What took you so long?! I'm starving!" Kiba, Kurenai's fencing student sat on the table ready for meals to be served.

"Kiba, get your butt off the chair and help make breakfast!" Kurenai hit his head with a rolling pin.

"Ouch! what's that for you old hag?!" Kiba bit on his tongue.

"Kiba, I suggest you keep quiet if you want breakfast." Shino, another one of Kurenai's student took a seat next to him.

"S-Sorry, it won't take long!" Hinata rushed into the kitchen with her basket of groceries and started making breakfast. She was known to have amazing skills in the kitchen, no one really knew how she managed, but she did. The meal was ready as expected, Kiba started swallowing the food like water, Shino and Kurenai looked at him in disgust.

"I'm done eating…Kiba, you're going to do the dishes." Kurenai pat her lips clean before excusing herself from the table.

"What?! Why me?!" Kiba grumbled with a mouth full of meat.

Hinata couldn't help but giggle at her foster mother and her student. Everyone has been treating her with such kindness, she didn't know how to repay them back.

"T-That's right! K-Kurenai-sensei do you k-know of any s-special occasion today?" Hinata stuttered, she ought to break that habit of hers.

"Hm? Today? Hmmmm." Kurenai looked through the back of her mind, while strangling Kiba with her elbows.

"Not that I can think of, why do you ask?"

"W-Well, i-it's nothing important…I-I was just wondering why t-there were so many p-people buying flowers, t-that's all." Hinata smiled shyly.

"Is that so…oh! I remember now!" Kiba took this chance and escape from Kurenai's loosen grip.

"The blacksmith's wife told me a gossip, she said the prince is on the look out for a wife! he'll be turning 16 this week!" Kurenai flung her arms in the air.

"That means a ball will be held tonight!" Kurenai twirled around the room.

"I-Is that so…" Hinata mumbled. Maybe that's why there were so many people at the florist, to buy the best flowers for making perfumes. (I don't know how long it takes to make perfumes, but I'll assume it doesn't take long)

I wonder if Naruto-kun will be there…

"What's wrong, Hinata?" Kurenai was standing close to her.

"N-nothing! I-I was just thinking…t-that's all." she smiled.

"It's alright, even if you can't go, we'll have a celebration anyway!" Kurenai brushed her hair off her cheeks.

Only aristocrats are allowed to enter the palace, which means only the nobles are allowed to participate. A commoner like Hinata doesn't even stand a chance to go near the gates.

"I-I'll go to the markets again to buy some fresh ingredients then." Hinata brushed whatever she was feeling away and head to the market again with her basket. Kurenai slouched back down on her chair, letting out a distressful sigh.

"Do you think she remembers?" Shino spoke out from the blues.

"It's possible…it has been so many years, I hope she doesn't." Kurenai fidget her finger, her sharp nail accidentally cut her thumb, staring as the blood slowly stain her flesh.

At the markets, the florist has already sold most of their flowers, except for a few unpopular scentless plants.

"Ino!" Hinata waved to her friend. Ino was a kind and beautiful girl, blessed with platinum blond hair and emerald eyes (almost similar to Hinata's pupiless eyes) her family was wealthy, part of an organization the palace runs, instead of relying on the royal family, they've decided to run their own florist to make a living of.

"Hinata!" Ino set pots of waters aside and greeted her friend with a warm smile.

"I'm sorry I couldn't greet you earlier, everything has been so crazy." Ino frowned.

"I-It's alright, p-please don't feel bad." Hinata tried to comfort her back.

"Wait here!" Ino remembered something from the back of her mind, soon returned with a bouquet of white lilies.

"I saved some for you, it's that time of the year again right." Ino handed her the bouquet.

"I-It's alright, N-Naruto-kun already helped me b-bought some earlier." Hinata blushed just by mentioning Naruto's name

"Oho~ so that's who he bought the flowers for." Ino grinned cheekily.

"But accept these too, as a gift from me to your parents." Hinata couldn't refuse Ino's persistent offer.

"T-Thank you, Ino."

"I better help tidy up the mess those rabid girls made, before the ball! Oh I just can't wait for it!" Ino was already in her own wonderland, dancing with her imaginary prince she haven't met yet.

"I-I'm happy for you. U-Um, I-I better go now, t-thank you for the flowers again, Ino." Hinata politely excuse herself from the day dreaming Ino.

After a shopping for the needed ingredients, Hinata decided to visit her parent's grave again, after placing another bouquet of lilies, she left her basket by accident. Headed back to the tomb stones, she spotted someone in front of her parent's tomb stone. Judging by the size, she was a girl, well dressed Hinata ssumed under her loosely worn cloak. The girl was sneaking around, hiding one lily at a time into her hood.

"W-What are you doing?!" Hinata threw her basket aside and rushed over to the thief.

"T-Those are for my parents! d-don't you have any morals?!" they both struggle from each other's strong grip, Hinata refused to let go of the girl, pulling and pushing her around, to Hinata's surprise, she was stronger and managed to budge free from her grasp as she forcefully pushed Hinata to the ground and ran away. Stopped by a firm body in front of her, the girl fell backwards with the lilies scattered everywhere, she looked up and met with a pair of raging red eyes. The girl was terrified, she quickly escape from his glare and deeper into the forest.

"T-Thank you." Hinata finally caught up, her dress were soiled and bruises on her wrists. All he did was stand there, stare into her soul. Hinata looked into his red orbs, flash memories of her parents death played through her mind. She broke down on the floor, covering her ears to calm down.

"Here." He offered her a hand. Hinata has hesitant at first, but accepted his hand.

"T-Thank you…again." she mumbled. She remembered him from earlier with Naruto, his name doesn't ring a bell to her though. As he pulled her up, she was stung by pain around her wrist and ankle, the girl had pushed her hard she tripped over some rocks and fell.

Her rescuer looked at her with an eyebrow raised.

"I-I'm alright." she tried to pull a smile. He sigh, lifting Hinata up at ease.

"W-Wha-?!" caught by surprised, Hinata was lost in words. He went over to pick up her basket, with Hinata still in his arms and rest her on his horse.

"Don't move." He set her on his horse before getting him himself.

"W-where are you taking me?" Hinata was too scared to move a muscle, if she were to flee, she couldn't run anyways.

"Would you stop talking." it wasn't a question, but an order. Hinata quietly as a stranger took her away.

"Um, M-May I at least know your n-name?" She was too scared to raise her voice.

"…." he refuse to reply.

"M-May I a-at least know what to call you?" Hinata insisted on a name.

"Just 'Sasuke' is fine." he finally spoke, but with a cold voice.

"O-Okay…T-Thank you, Sasuke-san."

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Thank you for reading chapter 2! I hope you enjoyed this chapter :D I'll upload chapter 3 asap :) please look forward to it ^-^


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you everyone for the reviews and follows and faves xD I really appreciate it!

If you're wondering why I updated it so soon, well, that's because I've already written it and uploaded it on tumblr a few months ago and am just uploading it here on :) but from this chapter on wards, everything will slow down again :P

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto

Thank you for tolerating with my horrible grammar until now! Hope you'll enjoy this chapter too :)

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Chapter 3:

Surrounded by strangers, Hinata was brought to a great entrance, greeted by maids and butlers who bowed as they walks past. Hinata was stunned by the amazing decorations, the floors were spotless and everything was polished.

"Welcome home, P-" Sasuke gave the butler a look, as if the butler understood, he nodded.

"I mean...Welcome home, Master Sasuke and young miss." The butler welcomed them.

"She's hurt, I'll take her to the guest room. Tell Sakura meet me at the guest room." Hinata, who was in Sasuke's arms the whole time, was brought up the stairs.

"I-I can walk! I-It's okay to put m-me down." feeling quite awkward and embarrassed, Hinata tried to free herself from Sasuke.

"You think you can walk up the stairs with that sprained ankle of yours? Unlikely." Sasuke didn't even change the expression of his face when he was mocking her.

"Sakura's a nurse who works here, she'll fix that ankle of yours as soon as possible." Sasuke laid her gently on the bed after they entered the guest room. Hinata was too distracted from the gentle stranger in front of her than the beautiful interior designs of the room.

"I-If I may ask. W-Why did you decide to h-help me?" Hinata was curious enough to ask. It's very unusual for a stranger, especially a nobleman, to offer help to peasants such as Hinata.

"I do what ever I want." Sasuke refused to answer her. Hinata wanted to pry out the reason, but judging from Sasuke's glare, it's best not to.

"Excuse me, Sasuke-sama, would you mind if I come in?" a softer voice spoke after a few knocks on the door.

"C-Come in!" Hinata called out, even thought she did not ask for her. The maid entered with a new set of nicely ironed dress, followed buy jars of water mixed with flower petals.

"Take your time to clean up, Sakura will be with you in a moment." Sasuke crossed his arms and legs, waiting for the maids to prepare the bath behind the thin screen. Hinata's face burned, why was Sasuke still there?!

"Pardon us miss, would you mind if we help undress you?" the maids asked politely.

"Um, s-sure." Hinata looked over to Sasuke, who still doesn't have a clue to what's going on.

"S-Sasuke-san, m-may I ask why y-you're still here?" Hinata tried not to stumble on her words. Sasuke looked at her at first, confused to what she meant, but soon realized.

"Y-you can change behind the screen, it's big enough to cover 3 fat duchesses. I don't trust anything with your wound." Sasuke tried to make excuses from his blunder, but staying is the only way to retain his so called 'pride'.

"O-Okay." Hinata went over to the screen, helped by the maids to undress and dip herself into the luke warm bath with scattered flower petals. Sasuke began to feel warm from the Hinata's silhouette.

"I'm going to get some fresh air." He took this chance to excused himself from any further embarrassing moments.

After the bath, Hinata was newly dressed in finer fabric dress, decorated with beautiful yet elegantly plain embroidery which complimented her curves.

"T-Thank you for the spare clothes, I-I'll returned it once it's washed." Sasuke didn't say a single word, but kneeled down and started to examine her swollen ankle.

"W-What are you-"

"Just stay still." Sasuke's warm fingers grazed past her soft skin, feeling sensitive, Hinata shuddered.

"Sasuke-sama, you called?" a girl with milky pink hair and bright green eyes entered the room, her anticipated face dropped as soon as she say Hinata, sitting on the bed with her wounded leg on Sasuke's knee.

"Am I interrupting something here?" She gave Hinata a dirty look.

"I'm going back to my office, fix her ankle." Sasuke gently put her leg aside and exited the room. Sakura made her way to Hinata, with a medical aid box in her hand, she started inspecting her bruises first.

"U-um, N-nothing happened just now." Hinata mumbled. Sakura ignored her and continued with the inspection, with a few painful push and pull, (Hinata had to bite down her lip from the pain), her ankle was loose and appeared to healed.

"I-It doesn't hurt anymore." Hinata moved her legs around and tried standing up.

"Of course, I'm the best medical nurse of all Konoha, trained by the great Sage, Tsunade." Sakura replied in a snobbish tone.

"T-thank you very much, e-erm."

"Sakura."

"T-thank you very much, Sakura-san." Hinata gave a gratitude smile.

"if there isn't anything else, I'll excuse myself." with the last few touches to Hinata's bandages, Sakura rudely slammed the door behind her, echoing the whole room. Hinata laid down on the bed and sigh, wondering if she had offended Sakura or not, and why was an aristocrat such as Sasuke did so much in far extent to help her, just because she twisted her ankle?

"What was that all about?" Sakura interrupted Sasuke's conversation with Ebisu. Sasuke gestured him to leave the room for some privacy.

"That's quite rude of you to barge into an important meeting I'm having, Sakura." Sasuke wasn't impressed.

"I have the rights to know why you brought a women into the palace! a peasant even!" Sakura punched the table in front of Sasuke with both her strong fist. Sasuke already had a tiring day, discussing important matters with Ebisu about the villager's issues, he doesn't have time to put up with Sakura's unreasonable drama.

"I'll only say this once so listen closely. Just because I offered you a position I do not need at this palace, doesn't give you the rights to question my actions. You're nothing but an old acquittance. At this rate, your value is even lower than that of Naruto's who's actually doing what he is told. So either you keep your pathetic drama to yourself or go back home." Sasuke spoke as clearly as he could. Sakura's face reddened with embarrassment, quickly, she left the room without another word.

Sasuke slouched back into his chair. Stress has been building up since the day the council propose he finds a suitable queen to success the throne, with too much events to handle, the ball isn't one of the list he should worry about.

"Sasuke-sama, shouldn't you start preparing for tonight's ball?" Kakashi knocked on the door with a teasing smile in his eyes.

"I don't have time to worry about that." Sasuke started to bury himself in piles of paper works.

"You know, you should take this time to relax, meet a few nice girls, get this marriage thing out of the way and live happily ever after." Kakashi walked over to tease him even more, watching Sasuke's annoyed expressions has became one of Kakashi's favorite entertainment.

"Are you done yet? I have a lot of work to do here." Sasuke replied while flipping through more papers.

"That girl you brought back, she's pretty cute." Sasuke froze in action. Jackpot, Kakashi thought.

"Leave her out of this."

"It's unexpected of you to offer help, especially to a peasant. I'm curious, do tell." Kakashi leaned on the desk like a teenage girl waiting for juicy gossips.

"That's none of your concern, shut up."

"There are 2 possibilities I could only think of at the back of my mind. One, you've fallen in love at first sight, didn't know she was your type. and two, you have a motive for an entirely different reason, so which is it, Prince." Kakashi smirked under his mask. Knowing Kakashi for half his lifetime, he'll never let it go unless you tell him the truth.

"*sigh* She was there."

"Come again?"

"No one but me and the council know about that place, it's hidden."

"Where?"

"She was there, visiting the tomb stones of my dead parents."

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Thank you for reading chapter 3! I hope you enjoyed it ^-^ please look forward to the next chapter! not sure when I'll update but I'll try :P


	4. Chapter 4

Thank you so much for the lovely reviews :D I really appreciate it! I'm sorry if I've caused any confusion in this fanfic! But I'll try my best to make things a little clearer :)

And if you're wondering who that girl from the previous chapter was, you'll have to keep reading to find out :D she could be Hanabi, or she could just be a random girl I made up xD

Anyways, here's the next chapter!

(please excuse my grammar mistakes and typos :P)

Disclaimer: I do not own Naruto!

Enjoy!

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Hinata idly stayed in her room. What was she doing there, she wondered. She looked out the huge window next to the bed. Hinata was fascinated by the amazing view, down below was a beautiful garden and a grand fountain, Hinata looked with awe, a strange nostalgic feeling lingered in her.

_What's this feeling...?_ a knock on the door interrupted her thoughts.

"C-Come in!" she called out. Sasuke entered the room.

"S-Sasuke-sama-"

"You can walk now?" he asked with in emotionless tone.

"Y-Yes. T-Thank you." Hinata bowed politely back. Sasuke scanned her dress, it suited her perfectly.

"Uum..." Hinata planted her face close to his, Sasuke could almost see his own reflection in her eyes.

"You eyes aren't red." Hinata whispered to herself.

"What?" Hinata quickly let go of him and stood back.

"S-Sorry! I-I didn't mean to...I-I just want to t-thank you." Hinata spoke shyly.

"Hmph."

"Wait." Hinata pulled on his arm again.

"I-Is there a-anything I could do to r-repay you?" Sasuke looked at her. Hinata pulled onto her sleeves and bit her bottom lip anxiously.

"Then work for me."

"_What do you mean?" Kakashi was curious himself._

"_Think about it, how does a commoner like her knows about that tombs? I need to investigate this. Something about her that's disturbing me. I'll keep her on a watch. And she may be useful to me." Sasuke eyed towards Kakashi, who nodded back._

"_Understood."_

"W-What do you mean?" Hinata questioned him.

"Thanks to me, you're able to walk again. I doubt a commoner like you will be able to pay for the medical bill. You'll work for me to pay them off." Hinata was speechless, shouldn't she feel happy that she was offered to work with an aristocrat?

"B-But I-" Hinata tried to protest, only to be interrupted by Sasuke.

"Unless you have the money now." Sasuke smirked cheekily.

"N-No." Hinata protested.

"Good, now go home and pack your bags, you'll be staying here from now on. The carriage is waiting for you at the entrance." without anything else to say, Sasuke left the room.

"Y-Yes! Thank you!" And the door clicked behind him.

After Hinata was carried away through the back door, (she thought was the front )guests started to arrive at the main entrance. One by one, fine ladies dressed in the most beautiful gowns they owned and walked gracefully into the grand hall with their escorts.

"What a surprise to see you, Ino." Asuma greeted his precious student with a wide smile.

"It's been awhile, sensei! Has Shikamaru and Chouji arrived yet?" Ino asked curiously.

"Shikamaru, not yet, but Chouji's helping himself with the food." Asuma and Ino both chuckled.

"Ino." her mother who was standing next to to her husband called out to her.

"Excuse me." Ino did a little curtsey to excuse herself. The hall was filled laughter and chatter, the only thing missing was the prince himself. Sasuke was getting ready in his room, the maids fastened the last button up, the other brushed his hair back in a sleek movement. A soft knocked on the door, Sasuke looked over at the maid to excuse themselves.

"Sasuke..." Sakura looked past the massing maids.

"Come in." Sasuke spoke coldly.

"You asked for me?" Sakura replied in the same tone. She was obviously still upset about Sasuke's attitude towards her earlier.

"Had she arrived yet?" Sasuke asked.

"Who?" Sakura pretended she didn't know what Sasuke was talking about.

"Stop acting dumb." Sasuke was in no mood to play games. This event was mocking him, it's to showing the world he has no power.

"She should arrive soon. If there isn't anything else, I'll be downstairs. Excuse me." Sasuke puller her wrist.

"Hey." He looked into her eyes, Sakura advert away and walked back downstairs.

"Sasuke!" at the end of the hallway came Naruto, he was unexpectedly neat that evening.

"Who would have known the great Prince would be engaged with one of the women waiting tonight! Aren't you excited?" Naruto playfully nudged him.

"It's not something I wanted, the council demanded it." Sasuke pushed him away and walked off, Naruto grinned and followed behind.

"I'll be waiting here." the footman said.

"I-I won't be long!" Hinata ran as fast as she could into the cottage with her basket.

"K-Kurenai-sensei, I'm home!" Hinata pushed past the squeaky door.

"Ah, Hinata-chan, welcome home." Kurenai came out form the kitchen.

"I thought you got lost and sent Kiba and Shino to look for you, what took you so long? Dinner is almost read-"

"Um, Kurenai-sensei. I-I can't stay." Hinata went straight to her room with Kurenai right behind her.

"What do you mean? Where are you going? Wait, why are you dressed like that?!" Kurenai was too worried about her to notice how different she looked.

"W-Well, I was saved today, a-and I was offered a j-job from an aristocrat." Hinata pulled out two small straw suitcase form underneath her bed.

"And how does that explain what you're doing now?" Kurenai leaned against the door way.

"W-Well, I-I'll be staying there now." Hinata packed her last belonging into the suitcase.

"T-Thank you for looking after me until this day, I-I don't want to be a further burden to you. D-Don't worry, I-I'll visit whenever I-I can." Hinata walked over towards Kurenai and gave her a heart warming hug, Hinata left quickly as the footman had been waiting for her. Kurenai farewell her as he horse trotted away with Hinata. It doesn't take long until they arrived the palace, Hinata was confused, this wasn't the entrance she went before. Her jaws dropped when she soon realized it was the palace gate.

"We're here, ma'am." the door was opened for her, greeted by the servants. Hinata was confused, everything was spinning in her head.

"You have arrived." Hinata was stopped by a man in a masked she has never seen before.

"I'm Kakashi, Sasuke-sama will be waiting for you, follow me please." He ordered the servants to carry her luggage on the way as Hinata followed him like a blind mouse.

"W-where are we going?" Hinata quickened her pace.

"The ball of course, why did you think Sasuke dressed you up? Relax for a bit." Kakashi smiled casually under his mask.

"T-The ball?!" Hinata never dreamed she could attend the ball.

"Of course." after the long hallway, she was blinded by beautiful lights and glamorous dresses. Everyone was chatting and laughing, Hinata noticed there were a generous number of male attendence as well.

"Prince Sasuke has arrived." everyone turned silence and turned their attention towards the prince who was making his way down the stairs. Hinata tried to stand on her tip toes and couldn't believe her eyes. Sasuke was a prince, the prince of Konoha and she was there.

"Thank you everyone for attending this ball, I hope you enjoy this evening." Everyone clapped as Sasuke sat down on his throne. Everyone formed a circle, men and women danced together when the music, waltzing with the harmony. The girls one by one asked to dance with the prince, he had no choice but to accept, it would be rude if he refused. Hinata was too distracted by everything around, the food, the guests, everyone.

"Hinata-chan? Is that you?" she heard a familiar voice from behind, it was Ino and her friend Sakura.

"I-Ino-"

"Woahaha! It is you!" Ino pulled her into a friendly hug and giggled.

"Why are you here?!" Ino was surprised to see her friend there, more shocked than surprised, but she was happy for her.

"I-I don't really know myself." Hinata forced a giggle.

"Let me introduce to my friend, this is Sakura." Sakura didn't seemed amused when she saw Hinata, she was some how feeling negative.

"S-Sakura-san." Hinata lowered her head when she saw Sakura.

"T-Thank you for helping me." Hinata gripped onto her dress.

"You two know each other?" Ino looked at the two with a puzzled look.

"One way or another." Sakura looked back at Hinata who particularly nervous. She tilted her head a bit and brushed her strawberry locks back.

"Don't feel so nervous."Sakura finally soften with a smile.

"I'm Haruno Sakura, it was nice to meet you." Hinata smiled back.

"I-I'm Hinata, n-nice to meet you too, S-Sakura-san."

"Just Sakura is fine." she smiled.

"Well that was a bit random, but let's enjoy!" Ino gave them a friendly pat on the shoulders.

"Yo." a handsome man around their age went over to Ino and asked for a dance.

"Shikamaru!" Ino was happy to see him, grinning like an idiot.

"Hello." another girl popped out from Shikamaru's back, she was beautiful, soft bronze hair and eyes greener than Ino's.

"Who's she?" Ino's expression immediate turned bitter.

"Temari, my escort for tonight." Shikamaru bluntly admitted. Hinata and Sakura would see the Ino was mad, actually, she was furious.

"You brought an escort with you?!" Ino stomped on Shikamaru's feet and walked off.

"What's wrong with her?!" Shikamaru's foot was throbbing in pain, he never understood women.

Hinata glanced over at the dance floor while Sakura and Temari attend to Shikamaru. She saw how elegant every women looked, then compared them to her. She was clumsy and careless, unlike everyone, Sasuke looked perfect as he float around with other women. She caught Sasuke's gaze towards her, he bowed and made his way towards her. Hinata's body tensed up, he couldn't be making his way towards _her_ right?

"Could I?" He held his hand out to her, with a charming smile on his face. Hinata almost didn't know what was happening, her heart rate escalated through the rooftop. Everyone stared at them in astonish, Sasuke just asked someone to dance without them running into his arms.

"O-Okay." She was pulled close to him, their face barely touching.

"B-But I don't know h-how to dance-"

"Just follow my lead." Sasuke whispered to her. The rest was like a dream, her body moved on it's own, all she could see was Sasuke in front of her. This moment was perfect for her, just like from a fairy tale her mother used to tell her. The orchestra finally finished with a grand finale, everyone clapped, and resumed to their conversations. Hinata felt exhausted, she was still trying to wrap around what happened.

"So, how was it?" Sakura looked a bit sour, she didn't get to dance with Sasuke yet.

"I-It wasn't too bad." Hinata laughed obliviously, she could sense something was there when Sakura spoke to Sasuke when she first met them, she didn't want to ruin it.

"Sakura-chan, would you like to dance? Oh! If it isn't Hinata-chan! I was wondering who that beautiful girl Sasuke danced with was." Naruto's appearance made Hinata's heart stopped completely, she wanted to faint. In her eyes, Naruto shone brighter than the prince himself, he was perfect to her.

"N-Naruto-kun!" Hinata stretched the widest smile she could.

"Hehe, you did great out there." Naruto complimented her.

"T-thank you." Hinata blushed shyly.

"So what do you say, Sakura-chan, let's dance." Naruto came out a bit forceful, Sakura nagged for a bit but agreed in the end. Hinata wished she was in Sakura's shoes. The evening was enjoyable for most, it was a great experience for her. The event was about to end, Sasuke who was resting from his throne for a moment stood up to make an announcement.

"May I have your attention please." Everyone turned silent.

"As you may know, today's event was an opportunity for me to search for the future queen, and I'm glad to say, I have." All the girls looked at each other with excitement. Sasuke was smiling, he looked almost content to the event, on the surface. He was smiling for a totally different reason only he and Kakashi knew about.

"I fell in love with her at first sight, I would like to introduce everyone to the girl that shall be the future queen of Konoha." Sasuke walked towards the group of girls, giggling as he walked towards them, most held their breath and almost fainted when he walked past them, devastated they weren't chosen. Sasuke made his wat closer towards Hinata and Sakura, everyone held their breah.

"Would you be my queen?" Sasuke held out Hinata's hand, Sakura was in a state of shock, Sasuke did what something she couldn't imagine all her life, Hinata was just as, even more, as confused as Sakura, her whole life just turned up side down in one day.

"Nod." Sasuke whispered to her, she unconsciously did and everyone clapped to congratulate them. Sakura stormed out of the room alone.

After the ball, Hinata was sent to her room, she walked zombie like around in circles. Sasuke was with her, he sat on her bed and thrown his gloves aside, he was really tired from all that dancing.

"Stop walking around, you're making me dizzy." Sasuke grunt, his warm and happy composure changed.

"W-would you mind explaining w-what's going on?" Hinata stuttered, her eyes were teary, she didn't expect to marry a prince, the only prince in her eyes was Naruto. Sasuke looked up at her, he felt pity.

"I'll explain." He stretched his legs and stood in front of her.

"I want to make a deal with you."

"A d-deal?"

"I don't want to get married, but the council demands it. You'll pretend to be my fiancee, and you will do as I say." Sasuke spoke slowly and as clearly as he could.

"W-why? Why me? You could have f-find other w-women who would love to b-be your queen." Hinata asked.

"You're the perfect candidate, you don't have ties with any royal family thus, you can't control me. Don't forget, you owe this to me. You don't have to worry, the engagement will end in a year, I'll be able to find a suitable wife within a year, and by that time, you'll be free." Sasuke explained. Hinata looked around, collecting her thoughts together.

"S-So you're saying, you want me to be your f-fiancee?" Hinata recited.

"Yes." Sasuke answered bluntly.

"B-But I-" Sasuke moved closer to her,

"Don't forget, you owe me." Sasuke smirked at her.

"It's late, get some rest." Sasuke gave Hinata a smug look and exit the room. Behind the closed door, on the other side of the room, Sasuke grinned to himself. He just thought out the perfect plan, he could hold the councils back for a year and investigate Hinata at the same time, it was like killing two birds with one stone.

* * *

Thank you for reading! Sorry it's a little long and really cheezy/corny D: but I hope you guys liked it! I'll update soon!


	5. Chapter 5

Hello fellow readers! Thank you everyone for the lovely reviews! I'm sorry I didn't update sooner Dx I started drawing more than write again (tehehe?) While I wait for my Midorima dakimakura, I shall write a new chapter!

Hope you guys will enjoy! It's going to be a little bit "wtf" for some of you I think...

this chapter's longer than the others, hopefully it should keep my beloved readers happy for the mean time :D

Enjoy!

* * *

"This is preposterous!" a member of the council, Danzo slammed his only healthy arm on the marble table. The other members mumbled to each other while Sasuke remained calm.

"The council requested for me to find a bride and I did, what more do you ask for?" Sasuke rested his chin on his folded fingers. Danzo fidget, indeed they wanted the prince to find a bride, except things didn't go as planned. If the prince did not find a bride before he turns into an adult, he will have to forfeit the throne and the council will have to nominate a candidate. Despite Sasuke's reluctant cooperation with the council, he's not oblivious towards Danzo's plans.

"Sasuke-sama, we indeed requested that you search for a bride, but we did not expect you to find a peasant!" Elder Koharu spoke out, with everyone else nodded in agreement..

"The truth is the truth, I will not back down on what I have decided." Sasuke stood his ground, the council may have some power over him, but there are nothing more than pesky flies to the arragont prince.

"You think I would be stupid enough to give up the throne that easily?" Sasuke smirked and looked over at Danzo, everyone in the room went silent.

"This meeting ends here, I have something else to attend to." Sasuke exited the room.

"Hmph, we'll see how long this charade will last, Sasuke-sama. Don't forget, she has to be given approval from the members of the council first." Danzo spat before Sasuke left.

"We'll see." Sasuke then closed the door behind him. Kakashi was leaning against the wall and waited for Sasuke, he looked over towards his student and waved.

"You never change that bad habit of eavesdropping." Sasuke grunted.

"Well, I have to look out for my cute student afterall." Kakashi playfully patted his head.

"And you ought to change that bad habit of yours too, try to respect your elders more." Kakashi chuckled. Sasuke grinned and led the way to his on the west wing. The two strolled through the long hallways of the castle.

"Danzo's a sneaky one, you better think of something before he makes his move." Kakashi suggested.

"I don't need to be reminded. As soon as this marriage matters is resolved, I can finally start what matters to me most." Sasuke narrowed his eyes as he remembered the death of his parents, and his brother.

"Well, let's just hope that day will come for you. After your sudden proposal, almost every family in Konoha sent you a letter about your choice in women, I even found some threatening letters...are you sure it's a good idea?" Kakashi asked.

"It's all part of the plan." Sasuke gave a smug look.

"Fine, but in the mean time, what are you planning to do with 'her'?" Sasuke froze.

"Argh, I forgot about her..." he pinched the bridge of his nose stressfully.

"How cruel of you." Kakahsi joked around.

"Where is she now?" Sasuke asked.

* * *

Tired from all the things that happened in one day, Hinata was still in bed, she has never slept in such soft beds before, the pillows were like clouds, blankets felt like sheep's skin and silk night gowns she wore was heavenly, Hinata wished she could stay like that forever. Sadly, happiness never last long, sharp light cut through her eyelids followed by loud rustling.

"Who gave you permission to sleep in, peasant." Hinata head a familiar voice, how she wished that was Naruto's, then everything would be perfect.

"S-Sasu-" Hinata tried to shelter the blinding light from her sensitive eyes,

"Who gave you permission to say my name?" Sasuke stood in front of her, blocking the light from the window behind him.

"Y-You did?" Hinata vaguely remembered. Sasuke was quiet for a while, clearly embarrassed, he was lucky enough that the shadow hid his blush.

"That's not important." he coughed.

"W-What brings you h-here?" Hinata felt sluggish, her body still too tired to sit up properly. Sasuke looked down at her in disgust of her lack of discipline. Hinata's hair was a mess, her eyes were droopy and restless, her nightgown seemed to be a size too big and hung under her like curtains.

"What time do you think it is, still rolling around on your bed like a slug-" Sasuke caught a glimpse of something he shouldn't have, he couldn't seem to avert his eyes away.

"I-I'm sorry, I'll get up right n-now." Hinata finally got off and stretched a little bit.

"A-Are you alright? Y-your face is really red." Hinata wanted to reach out and touch his burning face, but she remembered the prince of Konoha was standing in front of her, thus she cowardly held back.

"I-I'm sorry, I-I didn't mean to be r-rude!"Hinata was finally wide awake and fixed her posture.

"Ahem, q-quickly get dressed, you have plans ahead of you...that is all." Sasuke coughed awkwardly and walked out as the maids entered. Sasuke closed the door behind him and leaned against it.

"I saw that." Kakashi spoke out of the blue, Sasuke's skin crawled in horror.

"I-I wasn't staring!" Sasuke defended himself.

"When did I ever say you were?" Kakashi grinned cheekily under his mask.

"Shut up you old pervert." Sasuke glared at him.

"Me? A pervert? Why, I wasn't the one staring was I?" Kakashi loved to see the humiliated face of a high and mighty prince such as Sasuke. While Sasuke was too busy protesting against Kakashi, Hinata was already fully dressed.

"Um, s-sorry to interrup." Hinata stood with hands on her chest and fidgetting her fingers like a frightened little girl again. Sasuke stared back at her, now dressed in royal clothing, she looked completely different than the time he first saw her.

"See, you _are_ staring." Kakashi whispered to his ear.

"Shut up!" Sasuke snapped.

"I-I'm sorry!" Hinata quickly apologizes.

"I'm not talking to you! Geez, I'm surrounded by idiots." Sasuke stomped away.

"S-Should we f-follow him?" Hinata looked up at Kakashi, who tried to hold back his laughter.

"Sasuke, your office is this way."

* * *

Jokes aside, Sasuke sat Hinata down on the couch in his office, Kakashi took his position next to Sasuke.

"M-May I ask w-what's happening t-today?" Hinata meekly spoke.

"Your role as my fake fiancee has it's duties. First off, you'll be having lessons on proper etiquette on how to act like a royalty, second, you'll have lessons with me and Kakashi. We'll prepare you to act like a legit princess to be. Any questions?" Hinata shily raised her hand up.

"Yes?"

"Um, i-is any of this...necessary?" she asked in a quiet voice.

"The answer to that won't be necessary. I'll introduce you to your tutor." Sasuke looked over to Kakashi, who opened the door.

"This is Miss Yuuhi, the two of you will be spending a lot of time together." To Hinata's surprised, her caregiver, Kurenai-sensei walked into the door in a totally different appearance. Her hair was pulled back and tied in a neat bun, followed by her flowing dress.

"K-Kurenai-sensei?!" Hinata got up from her chair with her jaws dropped to the floor, Kurenai was equally as surprised as her.

"H-Hinata-chan?"

"I see you two know each other?" Kakashi rested his hand on Hinata's shoulder.

"Let us give the two of you some privacy, we'll continue this in the garden with some afternoon tea." Kakashi pushed Sasuke along. Until the door closed in a click, Kurenai threw herself into an embrace with Hinata.

"Kurenai-sensei! W-what are you doing here?" Hinata has so many questions to ask her, but that was what she could say at the moment.

"I should be asking _you_ that, sit down now." the two made themselves comfortable on the sofa. Kurenai held onto Hinata's soft hand and started to explain.  
"I've been hired as a tutor, for the prince's fiancee, I heard she was a commoner and needed some polishing." Kurenai was born from a rich family, sadly her fortune ended quickly when her father past away. Since then, Kurenai became a tutor for aristocrats due to her outstanding grades while attending the academy. Though, Hinata has never seen her dressed like that before.

"Now explain to me what happened to you." Kurenai dounded concern for the poor girl, Hinata took a deep breath and briefly explained her situation.

"I see, it must be stressful for you." Kurenai patted her head gently.

"I-I owe him afterall." Hinata could only smile with accomplishment, she felt better now that she could at least repay a favor.

"Well, not to worry, I'll be here to protect you!" Kurenai smiled with confidence,

"You're not alone anymore." Hinata nodded back. The maids soon informed them about afternoon tea and lead them to the beautiful garden. Sasuke was already enjoying some tea and scones while waiting for the ladies, Kakashi just stood next to him.

"Our apologies for being late, Sasuke-sama." Kurenai raised her skirt and bowed gracefully, Hinata followed.

"Have a seat." Kakashi pulled out the chairs for Kurenai, Hinata didn't expect to be treated like Kurenai, she went over to pull out her own chair. Kakashi gave a nudge to Sasuke, who rolled his eyes and pulled out Hinata's chair for her instead.

"T-thank you." Hinata felt a little uncomfortable with Sasuke's awkward kindness and quickly sat down.

"Sasuke-sama, not to be rude, but I would like to ask about Hinata's activities and living lifestyle in this castle, she has told me everything about your little contract. Oh, don't worry, I'm not the kind to tattle." Kurenai took a sip of her freshly brewed tea. Sasuke hated being questioned, but Kakashi has been giving him a few looks he couldn't avoided reality afterall.

"You don't need to worry about any mistreatment towards her, she'll be comfortable staying in this castle until the situation with the council has been resolved." Sasuke sighed.

"I still don't trust Hinata being left alone here." Kurenai gave some suspecious look.

"You know, there are a lot of women in this world who would die to be in Hinata's position, and at any cost would want to get rid of her, how would you like to explain to me on protecting her?" Kurenai made futher demands, Hinata gave a light tug under the table at Kurenai's sleeves.

"K-Kurenai-sensei, i-it's fine, I-I feel really safe." Hinata tried to talk Kurenai from intimidating Sasuke any further.

"This _is_ the castle afterall, of course the doors will be heavily guarded." Sasuke spoke proudly.

"Very well, you should keep your word then." Kurenai finally let go and continued enjoying her tea.

Kurenai left for today and will return on the next to start Hinata's lessons, she waved good bye to her as Kurenai was carried off in a wagon.

"Hinata-chan, good afternoon!" Naruto coincidentally walked past the gates on his horse.

"N-Naruto-kun! Good afternoon to you too!" Hinata was excited to see Naruto, it's only been a few hours but it felt like the day would never end.

"I was surprised that you became Sasuke's fiancee!" Naruto got off his horse and walked towards her.

"I-Is that so." Hinata stuttered.

"I was surprised myself too..." she muttered quietly to herself.

"Hm? Did you say anything?" Naruto moved closer to her.

"N-nothing!" she smiled back.

"Well, I just finish some errands, would you like to take a stroll with me?" Naruto offered, Hinata couldn't ask for anything better in this world, she immediately accepted. Naruto helped her onto the horse before himself.

"Alright then, hold on tight!" Naruto's horse went galloping past the gates and towards the forest, just outskirts of the castle. The cool wind blew past Hinata's face, Naruto's strong arms surrounded her, she had never felt any safer than this.

"Are you scared?" Naruto's breath was close to her face.

"N-Not at all!" Hinata tensed up. They finally slowed down after reaching to a nearby lake, the crystal clear water reflected the clear blue sky above them beautifully.

"Wow." Hinata was amazed by the flawless view.

"It's awesome isn't it, the three of us used to play here when we were younger." Naruto got off the horse first, then helped Hinata off.

"T-The three of you?" Hinata curiously asked.

"Sasuke, Sakura and I. The three of us were Kakashi-sensei's students back in the academy." The academy, known for the rich to attend, students were put into a class of only 3 for better focus and each of them graduated with success. Naruto barely passed all of his literature classes, but exceeded in cavalry and sword fighting classes. Sakura was offered an internship with the famous healer Tsunade, and made her way to the top along side Tsunade's assistant, Shizune. And Sasuke, well, he's the prince.

"T-those must be wonderful memories." Hinata smiled warmly. Naruto laid on the grass next to Hinata, sitting awkwardly under her uncomfortable dress.

"Yep. Hey, Hinata." he sat up.

"I know Sasuke is a pain and hard to get along with, but I'm glad you're the one he's marrying." Naruto smiled. It almost hurt her heart, but she knew what he meant.

"T-thank you." Hinata smiled back.

"Well, we better get back now." the two quickly got back on the horse. When Naruto tried to help Hinata up, the horse went on a rampage, throwing Hinata off it's back. She was safely caught by Naruto without harm.

"What's wrong boy?!" Naruto tried to calm the horse down, but it was acting aggitated.

"He doesn't look too well." Hinata patted it's head.

"Sorry Hinata, I guess we'll have to walk now." Hinata shook her head.

"It's alright, the castle isn't too far away, we better get him treated before anything gets worse." Naruto nodded back. Hinata enjoyed her time with Naruto so much, time flew by faster than expected.

"I'll see you around then, Hinata-chan!" Naruto led his horse away while waving back to Hinata.

"T-Thank you for today!" she waved back.

"Where have you been?" Sasuke surprised her from behind, he has been waiting by the door for some time.

"S-Sasuke-sama!" Hinata jumpped.

"You were with Naruto?" Sasuke looked over her shoulders at the fading Naruto figure.

"W-We went out for a walk." Hinata explained.

"You're my fiancee now, try to act like one and stop drooling over other men." Sasuke growled at her.

"I-I'm sorry." Hinata bit her lip.

"Go rest up, we'll call for you when supper's ready." the two parted ways.

* * *

After an awkward and silent supper with Sasuke, Hinata summerged herself into the bath water, Hinata was lost in deep thoughts.

"_I'm glad you're the one he's marrying." _

Naruto's blessing has been echoing in her mind for awhile, she wanted to tell Naruto it was all an act, but that would put Sasuke in a difficult situation.

_I want to take a nap..._

After fully dressed, she dug herself under the soft blankets and pillows, it has been a long day for her, who knew spending time with Sasuke could be this tiring, even though they hardly spoke. It wasn't long until she completely drowned in her dreams.

"_Hinata-chan, I would like you to meet-" the names were too blur to make out, Hinata looked around 5, she stood next to her parents and her new born sister in her mother's arms. A young boy around her age smiled back, Hinata couldn't see his face clearly, but he was smiling back at her. The soon took a quick turn into a fire chaos, dead bodies on the floor, Hinata's hands stained in blood, a man with red eyes looked down at her, his arms reach out to her neck, she felt her breath slowly fading away. _

Hinata ripped her eyes opened, it wasn't a dream, her neck was forced by a strong grip, a pair of eyes stared down at her with hatred. Hinata tried to push the person away, crawling her fingers around her choking neck. She searched her arms around the bed, luckily a decorative candle stick was next to her bed, she grabbed it and flung it towards the attacker which made him or her fell off the bed. In between breaths and coughs, Hinata yelled out for help, the attacker got back up and assaulted Hinata again, she was quick enough to run out of the room.

"Some one! H-help me!" Hinata ran around the castle, but no one should be awake by this time of the night, she tripped over her long night gown and fell hard on to the marble floor. The attacker was close behind her slowly caught up to her, it got on top of Hinata, this time with a dagger. Hinata screamed at the top of her lungs and braced for the pain, instead, she felt cold substances on her skin. She looked up and saw a blade through the attacker's heart, and the one wielding the sword was none other than Sasuke. Hinata could finally see clearly her attacker was a man, Sasuke moved his body aside with the bloodied sword still in his chest.

"Are you alright?" Sasuke was panting, Hinata could tell he ran from his room from a few rooms away. She was too shocked to speak out, only tears came out.

"It's alright now." Sasuke was compassionate enough to comfort her, he hugged her head and stoked her head. He ordered the duty guards to carry the dead body away and tightened the security in every room, Sasuke gave his robe to her and took her to his room.

"You'll stay in my room from now on." he set her in bed and tucked her in.

"I-I-" Hinata was lost in words.

"I'll sleep on the chair." Sasuke pulled one over and sat right across to Hinata. She looked at him with insecurities.

"Don't worry, I won't fall asleep until you fall asleep." Hinata nodded before slowly closing her eyes.

Sasuke closely watch her sleep, he looked through the letters sent by anonymous aristocrats who threatened to kill Hinata, there were several.

"that guy must've been a hired assassin...Heh, who knew that old hag was right about this." Sasuke sighed.

* * *

I hope I didn't confuse a whole lot of you xD I tried to keep things interesting while still making sense, I'm sorry if I've failed OwO"

anyways, I'll try to update more often!

Thank you for reading!


	6. Chapter 6

It's been a while since the last time I update OwO" I'm sorry...I lost the will to continue writing fanfictions =w=" I'll try to motivate myself more next time xD

Warning: I haven't let my lovely beta readers read it yet so there will be a tone of errors with spelling and grammar here, so be warned... (I'm sorry, again)

And another note, I'm holding a contest on my dA account, so please check it out if interested :)

Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Sasuke tried to convince himself to sleep on the couch, he did try, but it was just too uncomfortable for a prince to be sleeping on. Instead, he sat on that chair and watch Hinata sleep. Her peaceful expression was calming but seductive, who knew someone as plain as her could be so attractive. Sasuke isn't going to lie, he was somehow glad that she wasn't ugly, rumors would have gone around about his terrible taste in women...not that a peasant will show any good reputation anyway. There isn't a point staring at her sleep, he thought, might as well do something productive. Sasuke went over to his desk and pulled out some documents hidden under the drawers. A while ago, he had some of his subordinates investigate about Hinata's background. There weren't a lot of information documented about the peasant girl, in fact, there were barely any information about her background other than living with Kurenai. Sasuke tossed the papers aside and went into deep thoughts, this girl was getting more and more mysterious by the minute, he needs more information, a plan needs to be set in this case.

"You're an interesting one." he smirked curiously. As he was too preoccupied with questions, the sun had already rose up.

"Time to wake the sleeping princess." Sasuke stretched his tired bones out before making his way towards the sleeping Hinata. He didn't speak at first, only his dark tired eyes stared down at her slumbering figure. Sasuke gave a light nudge on her shoulder, but she seemed to be deep in her dreams.

"Wake up now." he demanded. Still, the sleeping beauty refused to even budge. Patience was never in his dictionary, he never bother with learning, he is the prince after all...

"Hey, I said wake-" A pair of opal eyes fluttered open so sudden, Sasuke froze in astonishment with his jaws dropped. Her clear and bright orbs reflection and glittered under Sasuke's gaze.

_I felt like...I've seen this pair of eyes before..._

Captivated by her eyes, Sasuke quickly pinched himself back to reality.

"G-Good morning." Hinata was the first to blink free from the enchanted gazing.

"You too." Sasuke slouched back on the chair. The silence made the air heavy and awkward, especially with a lightly dressed Hinata lying in bed like an vixen playing innocent.

"What?" Sasuke spat coldly at her, who shivered at his gaze.

"Um, L-Last night, that man..." Hinata mumbled.

"He's dead." Sasuke was direct with his sentences, never around the bush unless it amuses him.

"I-Is that so." Hinata looked down at her cold sweaty palms, still tremble with fear.

"T-Thank you, f-for saving me." Hinata forced herself to smile, as much as she wished that there was another way to be saved, death seemed to be inevitable.

"Your life's important to me." Hinata looked up and blush.

"Don't be too full of yourself, if you're dead, I'll have to find another girl in your replacement, then I'll have to answer a load of bullshit from the council." Hinata knew what he was just clearing up any unwanted misunderstandings, but it still gave her heart a sour after taste in the way he spoke.

"I-I know, but t-thank you." She nibbled her bottom lip. Hinata tilted her head slightly, only to be surprised by a painful sting, it must have been bruised when she was being strangled. Sasuke noticed the painful expression on her face and sighed again.

"You seemed to be prone to injuries...I'll get Sakura to check up on you." He stood up from his chair with aching tensed muscle pain, it was rather uncomfortable to spend the night on a chair. And of course with the pride Sasuke has, there was no way he would show weakness in front of anyone.

"Hurry up and get dressed before then." As he made his way towards the door, Hinata reached out to grip onto the hem of his clothes, she looked up almost begging him to stay. Her hands were still trembling from the fresh memories embedded into her mind. Was she really begging? Sasuke wondered and raised an eyebrow, Hinata only shamelessly gripped on tighter. Last night was not a nightmare, it was reality, but the kindness that comforted her from Sasuke might really been just a dream. When she cried out for help, Sasuke was there, he became her security blanket. Sasuke sighed, he lightly brushed her hands away.

"I'll be back later." he didn't dare to show any kindness and closed the door behind him. Hinata slouched back onto the soft pillows, curled up and buried her face from the sunlight, all she could wish for was to have everything back to normal, where all she had to worry about was dinner and the laundry, not fending for her life. Tears tickled down her cheeks as Hinata quietly sob to herself, she was all alone, she felt it was alright to cry a little. It wasn't long until a soft knock on the door made Hinata quickly sat up, only to sprain her injured neck.

"C-come in." Sakura finally arrived on the call with her basket of medical equipment, she doesn't look the least pleasant to see her at all, especially in Sasuke's room.

"I'm here to check on your wounds." Sakura spoke in monotone.

"Y-Yes, t-thank you." Hinata's body tensed as she was seated on the bed, as Sakura looked for a stool to place her supplies on, the chair with used blankets Sasuke slept on last night irked her. The two kept quiet, since the day Sasuke announced his engagement with Hinata, Sakura escaped the ball room and wasn't heard of since.

"H-How have you been?" Hinata tried to lessen the stress on their relationship, if there was any to begin with, she wondered. Living in the castle was already an unpleasant situation, she doesn't want to make her relationship with Sakura another thing to worry.

"Fine." Sakura replied some how coldly as she lifted Hinata's chin up to examine her bruised neck.

"I-I'm sorry..." Hinata mumbled with a small frown and bowled her tears out. Sakura was stunned by Hinata's sudden tears, but only to reply with a snicker.

"W-What's so funny?" Hinata wanted to dig a hole and bury herself alive, this was the worse morning of her life.

"What are you apologizing for?" Sakura wiped her tears away with a handkerchief she kept in her pocket.

"I-I'm not really sure...b-but I know it has something t-to do with me?" Hinata sounded unsure, but she had a gut feeling it was caused by her one way or another.

"Thank you, but it's not your fault." Sakura pulled out a roll do bandages and gently wrapped it around her neck.

"You don't have to cry about it." Sakura's giggles finally put Hinata at ease.

"S-Sorry, I couldn't h-help myself." she stuttered even more.

"M-may I ask something?" Hinata asked as Sakura was bandaging her bruised neck.

"If you're going to ask what my relationship is with Sasuke-sama, it's fine." It doesn't take a genius to sense Sakura's affection towards Sasuke, the way she looks at him, the way she acts around him, even to a stranger was obvious enough.

"I love him. It may seem shallow to others, only because they don't understand." Sakura chuckled at her own one sided love to the one she knew would never love her back, no matter how much she offered her heart to him, he will never look at her the same way she did.

"I-I'm sorry!" Sakura giggled again at her sudden outburst of apologies.

"I said it wasn't your fault. I was just shocked that's all. Your bandages are all done, it'll take a few days for the swelling to disappear completely, but other than that, nothing serious." she took her time packing the equipment into the medical kit neatly.

"Thank you." Hinata brushed her fingers on her stinging neck, the ointment seemed to have taken some effect.

"I'll check up on you in a few days, be sure to replace the bandages after a bath." Sakura advised her to a few tips about keeping herself away from any more harm, it has been the second time she had to tend to her injuries.

"Y-Yes, thank you." Hinata thanked her again, old habits never change for her. As Sakura opened the door, she was welcomed by an impatience prince.

"Sasuke." Sakura lipped his name. Sasuke only stared back speechless.

"How's her injury?" Sasuke showed reluctant signs of interest.

"The swelling isn't serious, the mark should disappear in a few days." Sakura replied professionally.

"If there isn't anything else, I would like to excuse myself." Sakura lowered her head before leaving.

"Thank you." his voice was low and quiet, but Sakura was sure she heard those words came from his mouth. The heavy door closed behind her while Sasuke made his way to his terrified fiancee.

"You're still not dressed." Sasuke was annoyed.

"S-sorry, I'll c-change quickly." Hinata climbed off the bed in a hurry, she scanned around the room, it was huge, larger than the one she was placed in the night before, this was surely the room fitted for a prince.

"What are you idling around for?" Sasuke snapped.

"U-Um, I-I'm looking for clothes to c-change into." Sasuke sighed and massages his forehead, it's going to be a long day for sure.

* * *

"He was killed?" Danzo slammed his only working arm on the desk in rage.

"The poison apple we fed to the horse wasn't effective enough, we sent one of our hunters to finish the job but he was killed last night." his subordinate, Sai informed him. Danzo's original plan was to make Hinata fall off the horse, making it look like an accidental death, but he seemed have underestimated this peasant to have his second plan foiled.

"This is some luck she's having... We'll get rid of her one way or another, be sure to keep a close eye on her."

* * *

First lesson started off with Literature with Kurenai-sensei, Hinata was comfortable enough to learn from her, but it still felt alien that Kurenai was teaching her as a tutor and not as a family member. Sasuke stayed only for a moment to observe, but left a few minutes later to attend his duties.

"You seemed...distracted, Hinata-chan." Kurenai brushed her blueish hair off her face, Hinata was restless, as soon as Sasuke the room, her attention went towards her surroundings instead of the books in front of her.

"N-Nothing, I-I'm sorry! Where were we?" Hinata awkwardly flipped through the wrinkled pages.

"I was just reciting through old poems, are you sure you're alright?" Kurenai asked again.

"I-I'm fine, nothing to worry about." Hinata forced a smiled. Kurenai was reluctant to let it go, but there wasn't a point prying on her anyways. As Hinata read and analyzed the poem given by her tutor, Kurenai noticed the bandages hidden under the silk collar.

"Hinata!" Kurenai pulled Hinata's shoulders aside for a better view on her neck, Hinata tensed when Kurenai gently brushed her skin.

"What happened?! Did that prince do something to you?!" Kurenai was frantic, her beloved student was hurt in just a night.

"N-Nothing, I-I was just being careless." If Kurenai found out about the assassination attempt, that would give Sasuke more problems to deal with later.

"I-I wasn't too used to the pillows here and s-strained my neck a bit, nothing s-serious." Hinata was a bad liar, and she knew it, but if she tried her best, she could conceal any secrets.

"You gave me a fright." Kurenai finally calmed down with a sigh of relief.

"L-Let's continue w-with the lesson." Hinata tried to turn her attention elsewhere before she found out about her lie.

"If there's anything bothering you, just talk to me about it alright? I'll do what it takes to help out." Kurenai gently patted her head. Hinata nodded with a gently smile stretched across her face. Her gaze and concentration went straight back to the poem laid in front of her on a piece of paper, as her eyes danced around the sentences while she unconsciously mouthed the words out.

_I've heard of this poem before...where have I heard if before?_

"K-Kurenai-sensei, w-where did you get this?" Hinata asked curiously

"This? I took it from the castle library, Sasuke-sama gave me permission to look for resources. Interesting piece isn't it, as expected of the castle library." Kurenai flipped through some other poems she copied out for studies.

"Y-Yes." Hinata dipped her head sideways, the mystery to this poem was indeed questionable for her, but Hinata didn't bother to worry about it any further, she has better things to think of now.

"Come in." Kurenai answered to a soft knock on the door, Kakashi greeted them with a smile under his fabric mask.

"I'm here for Hinata-sama's next lesson." he spoke softly.

"N-Next lesson? Kurenai-sensei's not g-going to be my tutor?" Hinata asked.

"Sasuke-sama has requested a special lesson for you today, Hinata-sama" Kakashi gave a slight bow.

"We'll continue this tomorrow, don't forget to read through the poems I gave you." Kurenai left soon after.

"Well then, Hinata-sama, shall we?" Kakashi smiled under his mask and led the way to a room.

"W-What kind of lesson are we h-having?" Hinata was scared, she has all the rights to, forced to change into a strange outfit and out in the private garden, she stood nervously with her knees knocked together. Kakashi pulled out a few rapiers from the storage and a few guards.

"Today, we'll be learning about self defense." Sasuke who was leaning by the fence spoke out of the blue, he had some light leather armor around his body as if ready for battle.

"S-Self defense?!" Hinata became more afraid, she's physically weak and incapable to even swing a rolling pin at a rat, how is she going to cope with defending herself...

"Kakashi and I will be training with you until you're capable to defend yourself from assassins, and until that day comes, you'll have to be prepared." Sasuke pulled out a wooden sword hanging on his belt. Kakashi presented another finely crafted wooden sword for Hinata.

"Now, come at me with what ever you have." Sasuke stood in a steady stance.

"A-Are you sure? You might g-get hurt!" Hinata protested.

"I doubt it, now come." Hinata looked at Kakashi who gave a thumbs up, she reluctantly held the sword close to her chest.

"H-Here I come." she held the sword clumsily up in the air while charging towards her opponent, as she swigged her arm, the blade fell out of her grip and flew towards Sasuke in a blink of an eye. The blunt end of the blade bounced off Sasuke's forehead and left him unconscious on the hard grass.

"S-Sasuke! I'm s-sorry!" Hinata rushed over to his side and planted herself next to him.

"Sasuke, Sasuke!" she gently patted his cheeks.

"Wow, I've never seen someone took out Sasuke like that before, good job." Kakashi gave another thumbs up.

"K-Kakashi-sensei! Please help!" Hinata tremble frantically.

"He's fine, I've seen him dealt with something a lot worse." Kakashi didn't seem to worry at all, even though Sasuke's the last remaining prince with the Uchiha who's bloodline is more valuable than the world's most precious stone. He went over to a nearby bench and sat there like he owned it.

"He'll wake up eventually. Why don't you take a seat here and have a little friendly chat with me?" Kakashi suggested. The aura Hinata felt from him wasn't pleasant, it was some how disturbing with the book he was holding, but she did so anyways.

"Well, since we'll be spending a lot of time together, why don't you tell me more about yourself?"Kakashi smiled with his eyes.

"W-What do you want to know about me?"

"Well, anything, what's your hobby? Any future plans? Likes and dislikes?" Hinata hesitated for a moment, could she trust him by telling him about herself, but then again, she does want to form a good relationship with some people in the castle, it'll be too awkward and lonely to be the only peasant living in a family full of aristocrats.

"W-Well, I like to cook, I guess. Pressing flowers is also one of my hobbies. I-I can't say what my future will hold for now so I-I can't really answer." Hinata mumbled.

"Hooo? What about your likes and dislikes?" Kakashi rested his head on his hands like a curious gossiper.

"L-Likes?" Hinata searched through her thoughts, only to remember an image of Naruto which made her blush.

"Oho? I see I hit a nerve there? Tell me, is it our sleeping prince over there?" Kakashi chuckled.

"N-No! It's not Sasuke-sama!" Hinata quickly protested.

"S-shouldn't we start off without S-Sasuke-sama?" Hinata quickly thought of another topic to track Kakashi off, which was effective.

"Well, aren't you eager to learn." Kakashi teased playfully. They started off with the basic stance, Kakashi taught her how to stand properly and the proper way to hold a sword. It felt strange at first, a bit uncomfortable to be holding the blade in that position, but Hinata soon grew accustomed to the feeling.

"You're pretty adaptable aren't you." Kakashi was impressed, it might just make his job easier.

"Oh, look who felt left out." Sasuke began to grow conscious of his surroundings, but he was still a bit dizzy and confused.

"Sasuke-sama!"

"What happened?" Sasuke's head was throbbing, the pain on his forehead stung like thousand of needles piercing through his brain.

"You had a concussion from Hinata's flying blade of glory." Sasuke glared over at Hinata with his now red eyes.

"I'm sorry..." Hinata went teary eyed, she was too sensitive.

"Argh, would you stop crying...I'm going to lay down over there." Sasuke threw his weapon aside in frustration and went inside.

"Don't mind him, shall we continue?" Kakashi brushed off Sasuke's little tantrum and pulled Hinata back to training.

The hall ways were wide and decorated with several paintings of the previous kings and queens, as he walked past a particular portrait of his family, he felt rage at his brother's face.

___My foolish brother...If you want to kill me_

"I will kill you one day, Itachi...Just you wait."

"Well, I'll look forward to that too, Sasuke-sama." Danzo was just across the hall in a smug face and accompanied by Sai.

"If it isn't councilor Danzo, what brings you over to this side of the palace." Sasuke smirked back.

"I heard about the little accident from last night, that poor girl must be traumatized, I was just on my way to send her my regards. As a matter in fact, I have a little gift for her." Danzo signal Sai to step forward.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Sasuke-sama." Sasuke was almost shocked to see an almost identical face to his own.

"Sai here is one of my best guard, I wanted the princess-to-be to feel secure again with Sai here around to protect her." It was obvious enough to Sasuke that this was just one of Danzo's plan.

"That's very thoughtful of you, councilor Danzo, but I think I'll be capable of protecting my own woman." Sasuke insisted on declining his offer.

"Are you sure? The Sai here is an excellent guardian, after all, he managed to keep me safe from those surprises I've received." the two of them exchanged glares, the two had been having a war of their own since the day Sasuke was accepted into joining the council, it may have seem that Danzo's actions were for the sake of protecting the royal family and the Uchiha blood, as well as the good for the country, but Sasuke and a few of the previous king's advisers weren't foolish enough to know he was just setting up his road to take over Konoha. The conflict Sasuke has with the council has been a long journey, and it doesn't seem like it's going to end any time soon with Danzo around.

"Well, then you should keep Sai-kun here to continue protecting you." Sasuke whispered to Danzo's eye as he walked past. Danzo snared in displease continued walking.

* * *

Thank you for reading! I'll try (TRY) to update next time :)_  
_


	7. Chapter 7

I'm sorry I didn't update for so long, I really am! I intend to finish this fic, but it's just taking almost forever ^-^"

This is going to be a super short chapter, I kind of lost my notes and wasn't sure how I'm going to continue this OwO" I had the whole ending planned out as well xD

I hope you'll enjoy this despite the grammar and spelling errors!

* * *

"Let's end this for today, we'll continue tomorrow. In the mean time, why don't you take a long bath before lunch is served." Kakashi started packing up the equipments. Hinata was somply too tired to reply and simply nodded sluggishly. She dragged her aching body across the grass and towards the marble hall ways.

"Why is this place to huge..."Hinata sighed at her own carelessness. She seemed to be lost and walked aimlessly around the sun lid corridors.

"M-Maybe I should ask someone..." Unfortunately, no one was around the area where she was, the only solution was keep on moving. Hinata explored further and further away from the garden she came from and stumbled upon another one, thought this one was more abandoned with the over grown weeds and vines on the armless marble sculptures. It was oddly beautiful to Hinata that it had distracted herself from her throbbing muscles.

"I wonder why this place wasn't attended..." her sore fingers traced the face of the smooth marble.

_I feel like I've seen this face before..._

"Who's there." A deep voice snapped her out from her own thoughs..

"S-Sorry." Hinata quickly apologizes unconsciously, it had became a habit of her's to apologize before reasoning. A man covered in several bandages stood behind her, next to him was a younger male, around the same age as her and looked awfully like Sasuke with gray toned skin.

"No one is allowed this side of the castle." he glared down at her. Hinata was too terrified to look up, his voice was too intimidating for her to approach him.

"S-Sorry, I-I got lost. W-Would you mind telling me where Sasuke-sama's room may be?" Hinata kept her head lowered and spoke in a quiet voice.

"It's up the stairs right after the fifth door from this building." the younger male responded in a dull voice and pointed to the direction. Hinata shyly looked up, as her eyes met the older male, he responded with an terrified look on his face, as if he has just seen a ghost.

"T-Thank you." she escaped as fast as she could.

"Danzo-sama, is there a problem?" Sai asked his sweating master.

"That girl..." his voice trembled with fear and anger.

The tables were neatly set with a variety of dishes, a long day of training made her stomach growl embarrassingly.

"I wasn't sure what will suit your taste, so I asked the chef to make everything he could think of." Sasuke sat across her.

"Y-you don't have to d-do this for me." Hinata membled back.

"Hmph, you'll be staying here for a long time so it's necessary." of course it's not.

"I-It looks delicious." Hinata tried to pick her the heavy silverware on the table with her trembling fingers, the blisters stung against the cold metal.

"Then what are you waiting for?" Sasuke rested his head on his palm.

"Um...o-okay." it was too embarrassing for her to admit that she couldn't feel any energy left on her arm to even reach out for the food, the heavy fork hung over her fingers like a spider on it's web.

"Don't tell me you don't even know how to use utensils? Hmph, peasants." Sasuke snickered.

"N-No! It's not that...I-it's just, I can't feel my arms anymore." Hinata held back the tears, it was more than humiliating to admit her uselessness to an arrogant person like him. Hinata waited for him to laugh at her pathetic manner, but all she could hear were the sounds of utensils colliding. As she looked up, Sasuke had pulled her plate to him and started cutting the meat into bite size pieces.

"Here." He held out the fork. Hinata was confused, no, she was more than that, was it a dream? She wondered.

"Yes?" she was dumbfounded, _the_ Sasuke, prince of Konoha was trying to feed her?

"Are you an idiot?"Sasuke asked sarcastically.

"N-No, I-I'm just not sure what to do..." Hinata blushed.

"I was right, you are an idiot." Hinata quickly took the bite before Sasuke could insult her even further. She thought she shouldn't say anymore unnecessary thing, it might be best if she kept quiet and Sasuke does the feeding, it doesn't happen often for the prince to serve you. Sasuke wasn't sure about his own feelings, he just had the urge to pamper her, spoil her like his own little princess. He felt familiar towards the mysterious Hinata, her random stutter, her pearl like eyes, as if he had known her for all his life, but knew nothing at the same time.

"Um, h-how's your head?" she asked, Sasuke didn't seem to mind her asking questions at this moment while continuing feeding her.

"Nothing serious, but thanks to you the mark won't fade in a few days."

"S-Sorry, I-I'll be more careful next time."

"Hmph." They stayed quiet for a while, it was nice of him to help her, Hinata felt it was the least she could do to stay silent.

"T-Thank you for f-feeding me." Hinata patted her lips clean. Sasuke was gazing away from her, Hinata heard a few giggles behind the door, the maids had a faint blush on their faces upon eying the handsome prince showing affection to his 'bride-to-be'. Hinata's face lid up like a bulb in embarrassment. As soon as the maid left, Sasuke's soft gaze reverted back to his cold glare.

"The only reason why I'm doing this it to make our relationship look believable, so don't expect anything out of me." Sasuke growled.

"And stop apologizing, it's annoying." Sasuke gritted his teeth.

"M-May I return to rest then?" Hinata asked politely.

"What? Just because your lessons ended doesn't mean you're off the hook for the day." Sasuke pulled out some rolled up paper from his pocket.

"This is your schedule." Hinata scanned through quickly, only to gasp in terror.

"A-All of this, in one day?!"

"After this, we will be touring around the streets of Konoha, celebrating the announcement of our engagement." Sasuke sounded bitter when he said the words 'our engagement'.

"After that, the tailor will arrive to get some dress fitted, then your evening tutor will teach you about acting like royalty. Any questions?" Hinata shook her head in disbelief.

"Good, now get ready." Sasuke quickly disappeared off towards Kakashi who had been leaning against the door way for quite some time.

_He's a slave driver!_

"Just smile and wave." Sasuke gave an unwilling smile on his face to the crowd while waving. The two 'happy' couple sat on their roofless carriage, waving to the citizen of Konoha who greeted them with beautiful flower petals and confetti. Hinata finally changed from her practice gear into something more elegant but casual, the corset around her waist were constricting her breathing, and brushing against her burning skin, making her limited to movements. The crowd continued to cheer and rejoiced, if this was an engagement out of real love, it would be the happiest day of Hinata's life, she looked over at Sasuke.

_If only..._

Naruto was riding on his horse next to her, he too joined the parade as their body guard and waved to the crowd.

"Congratulations, Hinata!" Naruto looked up with the widest grin, it hurt her to receive his blessings without knowing the truth.

"T-Thank you." she gave a sad smile.

"Oi, Sasuke, you better treat her right!" Sasuke only looked back in disgust.

"Whatever."

"I wish you happiness, Hinata-chan. Wish me luck with Sakura-chan too!" Hinata couldn't hold back her tears any longer, tears would only overflow from her eyes.

"Ah, Hinata-chan! What's wrong!? Why are you crying!?" Naruto panicked a little, Sasuke rolled his eyes over at his fiancee and his knight with a bitter look. He can't stand it when girls cry.

"I-It's nothing, I-I'm just really happy, that's all." She had to lie.

"I'll cheer you on too, N-Naruto-kun." she forced a smile on her face.

_This girl..._

_Flash Back_

"_I see." Sasuke had an iced bag on his head over the wound. _

"_it seems like out little princess had nothing out of the ordinary, it's best to continue with the investigation." Kakashi had his arms crossed across his chest. _

"_I want to find out more about her, you didn't get much information from her either." Sasuke spat._

"_Baby steps, Sasuke-sama." the truth was, Kakashi was just playing around, he wasn't particularily interested in Hinata, he's more interested in Sasuke finding out about her. It's quite entertaining to see a prince fuss over a commoner. _

"_By the way, I did recall asking about her likes and dislikes, she seemed to hold affectionate towards someone." Kakashi snapped his fingers. _

"_That isn't relevant, Kakashi." _

_So that 'guy' must be that idiot. Interesting taste you have there, peasant._

"Keep your eye on the road, dead last." Sasuke smirked at Naruto.

"Oi-!" Naruto had to pulled the reins close to him, he was just about to run over a child. Her loud scream frightened the horse, it backed up to his back hooves and threw Naruto off.

"Look out!" Hinata carelessly threw herself to cover the frightened child, in any moment now, the horse would stomp it's hooves onto her. Hinata held the child tight.

"Really, do you love getting into trouble so much?" The horse screech in pain as it was pushed to the side with a hard kick. Sasuke stood all mighty in his carriage.

"S-Sasuke-" He jumped down and held out a hand.

"Are you hurt, Hinata." His tone changed instantly, Hinata then knew he was putting his mask back on again, they're in public after all.

"Y-Ya..."

"How careless." someone spoke from the shadows. Hinata quickly tensed up, she just embarrassed herself in public, she had shamed Sasuke once again.

"She's all covered in dirt." Another by passer whispered. Indeed she was covered in dirt and soiled flower petals. Sasuke must have been furious, she thought.

"Are all of you idiots? She just saved that girl!" Ino yelled out from afar and gave a thumbs up to her friend.

"Ino-chan..."

"Maya!" a woman cried out from the crowd.

"Mama!" the child ran into her mother's embrace.

"Thank you very much for saving her!" the mother looked up with grateful tears and continued bowing with gratitude.

"Y-You're welcome, as long as she's alright." Hinata brushed the dirt off the poor girl.

"Thank you!" Hinata was handed a flower the girl so preciously held on to.

"The princess is a hero!" everyone continued to cheer.

"Long live the prince and princess!" everyone threw more confetti into the air.

"Really, aren't you a handful." Sasuke couldn't help but smirked, he pulled her up and led her back onto the carriage. The crowd cheered even more as they continued the parade.

"You were so close to ruin the whole parade." After the parade, Sasuke had to cancel the rest of the day's plans to teach this 'princess' a lesson. He had his head on his hand and his legs cross on his chair. Hinata just received an earful from him.

"I-I'm sorry...I won't do it again."

"If you even have that though, I'll cut your neck." Sasuke threatened her.

"S-Sorry..." Hinata pulled onto her dress.

"But, you did make my job easier with the whole hero title and all." Sasuke gave a light pat on her shoulders as he walked past.

"Good job."

"Danzo-sama." Sai hid in the shadows that dyed the room. Danzo had been sitting on his chair for hours, the blood on his face looked drained and his eyes were lost in a frown, he kept mumbling 'that girl' over and over like some sort of chant.

"What about that girl, Danzo-sama?" Sai felt a dangerous aura from Danzo, he was planning something.

"Why is there a _Hyuuga_ in this castle."

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope you enjoyed it :) I have a feeling the next chapter will be up soon, but if you don't know me by now, I could be lying...


	8. Chapter 8

Surprised to see I've updated :D ? My laptop's broke so I couldn't do much on the internet due to some virus I think (cries in the corner) so I took this time to write up the next chapter before I disappear off again Orz. I stayed up late for this guys!

Anyways, this is just a pointless chapter, it's pretty boring...feel free to skip it if you like :D

Please excuse my horrible grammar and spelling, hope you'll enjoy it!

* * *

She could only hear voices in her head and blurred silhouette of a much taller male.

"_What is it?" he asked, a pair of little hands reach out to him holding a bundle of lilies._

"_For me?" He bent down to the same level._

"Wake up, Hinata!" Kurenai gave the sleeping Hinata a light nudge.

"Are you alright? You look tired." she brushed Hinata's hair a side.

"I-It's nothing, I just didn't get much sleep last night, that's all." Hinata smiled tiredly.

"Really? Anything bothering you?" Hinata thought back, but only bushed in embarrassment.

* * *

_Last night..._

"_I-if you would be kind to tell me where my room is..." It had been a long day, Hinata finally changed into her night gown but wore a robe to cover herself, it was still embarrassing to be wearing nothing but a night gown in front of a man. _

"_Your room?" Hinata was confused, didn't he arrange a new one after the incident?_

"_Um, t-to rest? In a room you arranged for me?" Hinata had to question her every word, Sasuke was certainly unpredictable after all. He had also changed into a light loose shirt and sat back down his chair while looking through some more documents._

"_You're staying here. Didn't I tell you you'll be staying here from then onwards?" Hinata froze on the spot, in the same room? What does he mean by that? Sure he was kind enough to offer her a bed for one night, but she certainly did not expect to stay in his room permanently._

"_P-Pardon?" _

"_We'll be staying in the same room." _

"_I'll taking turns for the couch." Sasuke rushed his words. _

"_I'll let you have the bed tonight. H-hurry up and go to sleep." Sasuke rushed his words. _

"_I'm okay." _

"_What?"_

"_I'm okay w-with sharing the bed." Hinata was blunt with her words, but she didn't mean anything else. Both of them were silent for a while, it took Hinata longer than expected to burn up even more, followed by Sasuke. _

"_I-I didn't mean it that way! I-I mean, um, that is, well...the bed's big enough for at least three people to fit in, s-so why don't we split it? I-I'm sure neither of u-us are willing to spend several nights on the c-couch at all." Sasuke was embarrassed to even had such lewd thoughts, but he is a man afterall. _

"_Fine, but if you ever cross this line, I hold no responsibility to what ever happens to you out of my control." Sasuke pulled his blanket over him with his back facing Hinata and the lined pillows. Hinata also noticed how close he was sleeping against the edge of the bed with most of the blanket on Hinata's side. _

_What kind of person is Sasuke, He's mean all the time but also nice occasionally, Hinata wondered. His kindness was random and she would never know if he was just acting or was it really genuine. _

_End Flash back_

* * *

And since last night, she couldn't get a single blink of sleep with Sasuke next to her the whole time. She admit it was her suggestion, she should't complain, plus it wasn't the first time she spent the night with Sasuke, she was emotionally burdened that time, of course she needed someone to be there for her, but not if she's fully aware of the situation.

"Nothing! N-Nothing at all!" Hinata quickly revert back to the books.

_Why am I getting so many weird dreams lately...?_

In the mean time, Sasuke was in the middle of planning his next move.

"Achoo!"

"Bless you." Kakashi grinned.

"You know, when you sneeze, it means someone was thinking about you." Kakashi teased.

"I doubt what ever they were thinking was anything pleasant at all." he sniffed.

"I doubt _she_ will be thinking anything unpleasant about you, Sasuke-sama." Kakashi was obviously enjoying this more than he should be.

"You're a nuisance." Sasuke flicked through more books. He had been researching about his family history through records, unfortunately, most of the important ones were burned during the massacre.

"Kakashi, get me more information about the neighboring countries ."

"Neighboring countries? Why?"

"My father's diary, I've managed to find a volume out of the burned piles. It says here that my father had travel to another country and brought someone back. The words had been soiled and burned I couldn't figure out where. Also, this happened just a few years before Itachi's attack. I remember Itachi acting weird before the massacre. I think this might be the key to finding Itachi." Sasuke traced his fingers over the ripped pages, he wanted to know what country his father went to, what did he brought back from that country that made Itachi decided to murder his whole family.

"Kakashi, I want you to look through any travel records my father might have went years ago, it's urgent."

"Heads up, back straight." Anko kept yelling at Hinata who was trying to balance a book over her head., she stuck her chest up and straighten her back, but as soon as she does that, the book fell off her head and slapped her cheeks in process.

"Really, what are we going to do with you!?"Anko sighed and crossed her arms.

"S-Sorry." Hinata kept on apologizing.

"You can't even walk properly, how are you suppose to act like a princess?"

"I-I'll do my best!" Hinata was determined to keep going, she stood back up with the book balancing on her head again. Sasuke had to admit, he quite admire this side of her, she reminded him so much about the good old days with Naruto, he gave it all he could just to beat Sasuke with Sakura cheering at the side.

_I guess she's not completely useless._

"We'll end our lesson for today, I expect you be able to at least walk without books falling off your head." Anko gave another stressful sigh.

"She's a keeper alright." Anko snared sarcastically as she walked past Sasuke with a sympathetic pat on the shoulder.

As soon as the door closed in a click, Hinata slouched back down on the couch.

"I didn't know women can be so ungraceful, I guess I was wrong." Sasuke smirked.

"U-Ungraceful!?" Hinata blushed with embarrassment.

"Calm down, I was only joking." Sasuke chuckled a lightly.

"I-I knew that." Hinata mumbled to herself.

"Getting used to living here yet?" Sasuke casually brought out the subject.

"I-It has only been a few days, b-but I think I'll get used to it soon." Hinata smiled back.

"I see. No one has suspected about this fake engagement yet, you're not bad at acting." it was faint, but Sasuke did smile slightly. Hinata felt her heart skipped a beat, it might have been the training, she thought.

"I-I'm going to continue practicing!" She jumped up from her seat and placed the book once again on her head. Sasuke spent the whole afternoon watching the hard working girl balancing the book on her head, the way she walked was awkward, but adorable. His eyelids grew droopy, he wasn't the only one who didn't get any sleep either, he might have appeared to be sound a sleep, but he was wide awake with his back against her the whole night. His visions grew blury from tiredness as Hinata walked back and forth in front of him.

"Sasuke! Look, I did it!" he looked up, Hinata somehow appeared so much younger in his eyes and a smile wider and brighter than the sun. He quickly rubbed his eyes, was he hallucinating?

"S-Sasuke-sama?" Hinata called out to him again. The image of Hinata reverted back to what Sasuke remembered, plain and ordinary.

_What was that..._

"What is it?" Sasuke yawned.

"N-Nothing, I just thought i-if you're tired, y-you should retire in your room." Hinata suggested.

"I'll do whatever I want, whenever I want." Sasuke stubbornly refused.

"S-Sorry." Hinata went back to her walking.

"Sasuke-sama, Hinata-sama, dinner has been prepared." the maids interrupted with a knock.

Dinner was silent between the two, Hinata's arms was no longer sore from training, but it still stung here and there when she tries to cut the tough meat. The air around them was awkward, even worse with the maid standing by while you were trying to enjoy a delicious meal. The moment was soon interrupted by Kakashi and co. barging.

"Sorry for the intrusion, Sasuke-sama, Hinata-sama." Hinata was more than relieved to see Kakashi, it beats having to eat as quietly as possible.

"Oh, hey'a Hinata-chan!" Naruto waved to her. Apparently he decided to continued training with Kakashi for quite some time.

"What is it?" Sasuke raised a brow.

"The _information_ you needed." Kakashi slurred his words. Sasuke looked over at the Hinata, she was distracted by Naruto showering her with his own heroic tales.

"What did you find?" Sasuke whispered.

"The most recent location the king visited was the country of wind." Kakashi whispered back.

"Find out more information about the people he had contact with, I'm sure it wasn't just a simply trip...find out any records of treaty with the wind and report back to my as soon as possible." Sasuke gave a deeper thought. If he could remember clearly, his father would often visit the wind to discuss about a treaty, and there is a possibility they might have information about this _thing_ he brought back with him.

"And then this huuugeeee guy tried to punch me, but too bad for him, I was fast! I rolled a side and-" Naruto was tugged away by Kakashi pulling his collar.

"Time to go now." Kakashi waved goodbye to his students.

"See 'ya Hinata-chan!" Hinata reluctantly waved back.

"That idiot never shuts up." Sasuke sighed.

"But, his personality lights up everything, d-doesn't it?" Hinata giggled.

"You. You like him, don't you?" Sasuke rest his cheeks on his hand. Hinata almost choked on her salad, how could Sasuke have known, no one told him before.

"N-No! I-It's nothing l-like that." Sasuke grinned at her panicked remark.

"You really do have a weird taste in men." He chuckled.

"S-Sasuke-sama also likes S-Sakura-san right!" Hinata blundered out. The atmosphere grew cold again, the two continued their meals in silent.

_What have I done!? Did I say something wrong?M-Maybe I should break the ice._

"Um, S-Sasu-"

"I'm full. If you need me, I'll be in my office." He has barely touched his food, how can he be full. Hinata was left alone in the dining halls.

The rest of the day continued with a lesson with Kurenai, the sun had already set before Kurenai left the castle.

"I'll see you again tomorrow, get some rest." Kurenai waved good by to her as her carriage carried her away. It has been a long day indeed, the classes were intense, it drained more energy than Hinata expected. As she walked by the corridors, Kakashi had just came out from Sasuke's office.

"G-Good evening, K-Kakashi-sensei." Hinata greeted him.

"Oh,Hinata-sama, I see you've improved in your curtsey."

"Y-Yes, it was all thanks to A-Anko-sensei." Hinata smiled back.

"She is a slave driver, isn't she." Even Kakashi noticed.

"It's for the best after all." Hinata giggled.

"Well, I better hurry along now." Kakashi bowed away.

"By the way, would you be so kind as to asking the maid to whip up something appetizing for Sasuke-sama? He doesn't seem to have any energy at all." Kakashi gave a thumbs up before walking off.

_Now that I think about it, Sasuke-sama hasn't eaten much during dinner..._

Sasuke had submerged himself under a lot of pressure, he needs to know more, he was desperate. Now that he has the opportunity to do his own research without the council nagging about marriage. His stomach growled laudly, it was really distracting him from his focus.

"This isn't going anywhere." He wanted to just pull all his hair out in frustration. Then, there was a soft knock on the door.

"Come in." Sasuke continued looking though the records. The delicious smell of Tomato soup filled the room almost instantly, Sasuke's hunger was to blame as well.

"I-I brought you s-soup." Hinata set the pot on his desk. Sasuke looked up, surprised to see her hair tied back wearing an apron.

"I um, t-thought you might be hungry. You didn't eat a lot before." Hinata took a step back. Sasuke looked up at her, then back at the pot of soup. The creamy texture was tempting him, tomatoes are his favorite no doubt about that.

"Did you make this?"Sasuke pointed at the pot with his quail. Hinata nodded.

"I-I wasn't sure if you'll like it, but it's one of my specialty." Hinata handed the spoon to him. Sasuke didn't hesitate to take a sip, it was delicious, better than what he expected.

"It's delicious." His face lid up.

"I'm so glad! I was worried you might dislike it..." Hinata rejoiced with her hands clapped together. Sasuke stared down at the pot of red soup.

"I, didn't hate Sakura." he suddenly brought the topic back.

"Eh?"

"It was a one sided love from her side. I don't like or dislike her. She was just a clost friend, that's all." he took another sip.

"I-Is that so...B-but why were you so sensitive back then?" Hinata sat on the chair across from him.

"I'm not completely heartless, I do feel somewhat guilty for hurting her one way or another...Just don't mention about it again, it might mislead to something else." Sasuke quickly drank the last drop.

"I wouldn't mind drinking this again." Sasuke returned the empty bowl to her.

"I'm glad." At last, they had a nice conversation, Hinata felt she knew him better, it wasn't weird talking to him anymore.

"Hey, I've been wondering to ask you." Hinata tilted her head.

"How did you know about my parent's grave."

* * *

Thank you for reading! I hope it wasn't torturing...

Not really a cliffhanger, but I'll start explaining a tiny part of Hinata's past in the next chapter :) hope you guys will look forward to it!


	9. Chapter 9

Sorry for the late update! (That's all I can say :P)

And sorry for my grammar...haven't been writing in a long time I completely forgotten how to write anymore xD

* * *

"How do I know...?" Hinata pondered. Why did Sasuke suddenly brought this topic up all of a sudden? Now that she thought about it, how did Sasuke know about her parent's grave?

"W-Why wouldn't I know where my parents were buried?" Hinata stared back in shock and confusion. Nothing was making any sense.

"That place where I found you, only members of the royal family knows about it and yet, you were there." Sasuke wanted to pry out more about her past, it was really getting into his nerves.

"B-But it can't be, I-I had been visiting them for as long as I could remember!" Hinata tried to explain herself. She wasn't lying, she had been visiting them since the day she could remember.

"I want you to tell me everything about your past. Every single detail." Sasuke glared back into her eyes, she was terrified, she never knew much about her past, the only memory she have were the times she spent with Kurenai. She thought hard again.

"S-someone told me, that was where my parents were buried." Hinata could see the intensity in Sasuke's eyes.

"Who?! Who told you?!" Sasuke grabbed a hold of her shoulder and shook violently, he was so close to finding out the truth about her.

"I-It hurts, let me go."Hinata winced in pain, but Sasuke didn't even budge.

"Tell me." Sasuke shook her even more.

"I-It hurts!" Hinata screamed. Sasuke finally let go, desperation took over him and his body had a mind of his own. Hinata backed away slowly, she was starting to feel unease and terrified of him, but somehow she couldn't just run out of the room and leave him alone.

"S-Sorry." She was reluctant to get close to him and kept a distance. Sasuke fell back into his chair tiredly.

"No. It's not your fault." he muttered. The room went silent, Hinata could only hear her own heartbeat and Sasuke's breathing in the presence of the room. It wasn't long until Sasuke spoke again.

"Do you know of my family history?" Sasuke asked.

"N-Not in particularly." Hinata answered. Sasuke thought for a moment, there really isn't a point hiding anything from her if he wants to know the truth.

"I wasn't the first in line to the throne. My brother, Itachi was. 10 years ago, he murdered the whole family except me." Her blood ran cold from Sasuke's story and gasped in disbelief, how could someone murder his whole family, was it even possible!?

"I-I'm sorry for your loss...b-but, why are you telling me this?" Hinata poured him with more questions.

"I just thought you might want to know the reason I'm acting this way, that's all. It's getting late, we should get some rest." without a word, Sasuke mummified himself under the blanket. He was confusing himself, why would he even bother explaining himself to her? He is _the_ prince after all.

* * *

"K-Kurenai-sensei, p-please tell me more about my past!" Hinata requested in the middle of the lesson the next morning.

"What is this about all of a sudden?" Kurenai chuckled.

"W-Well, I-I just wanted to know more about it, that's all." Hinata sat back down.

"The past is the past, there's no point dwelling in it." Kurenai continued to flip through the books.

"B-But, I'm starting to feel curious...why don't I have any memory of my parents or when I was younger." Hinata gripped onto her dress. Not only does she was to know about herself more, but the main reason was still to help Sasuke, since he was so desperate to know.

"There's nothing more I can tell you, you were found by me by the riverbed 10 years ago covered in blood, I assume you were attacked by a wild animal." Kurenai avoided eye contact with her, but Hinata didn't seem to notice.

"The Uchiha massacre happened 10 years ago." Kurenai dropped her book.

"W-Who told you about it? No one was supposed to tell you about it, let alone mention the massacre at all, it is forbidden!"

"S-Sasuke-sama told me." Kurenai looked terrified, as if she just saw a ghost.

"K-Kurenai-sensei?" Hinata reached out to her.

"I-I'm fine. Let's end out lesson for today, we'll continue tomorrow." Kurenai hurriedly packed her bags and left the room, but accidentally ran into Sasuke without looking.

"P-Pardon me." she apologizes and left quickly. Sasuke was confused for a moment, but brushed it off.

"Oi." He called out to Hinata.

"Y-Yes?" Hinata jumped a little.

"Pack your bags." Pack her bags? Is Sasuke kicking her out of the palace already?

"A-Am I-"

"We're heading out to the country of wind, so go pack." And he left immediately. Hinata pondered to herself, she has never travelled to a different country before, she was quite excited, but more nervous.

As she hurried to her room to pack, she stumbled upon Sakura. Like the shy girl she is, Hinata was reluctant at first to greet her.

"Hinata?" Sakura called out to her.

"G-good morning, Sakura-san." Hinata smiled politely back.

"Morning, did you just finish your class with Kurenai?" she asked as Hinata simply nodded back.

"T-The class had to end early. W-what about you, Sakura-san?" Sakura was holding onto a heavy basket.

"I just came back from treating Naruto's wounds. That idiot fell off the cliff today." Sakura ranted.

"N-Naruto-kun's hurt!?" Hinata gulped in worry.

"It's nothing big, just a few scratches. Like they say, idiots can't die that easily." Sakura chuckled to herself.

"I-I guess so." Hinata sigh with relief.

"Um, S-Sakura-san." Hinata looked up shily.

"Hn? What is it?" Sakura smiled back.

"T-thank you."

"Hn?" Sakura giggled.

"N-Nothing. U-Um…right, I was wondering if you could help me p-pack my belongings, i-if it's not too much to ask." Hinata requested.

"Pack your belongings? Are you going somewhere?" Sakura raised an eyebrow.

"W-Well, the thing is, Sasuke-sama told me that we'll be travelling to the country of wind tomorrow, a-and it's my first time travelling to another country. S-So I was wondering if y-you could help me with packing." Hinata asked shyly, she was worried Sakura might laugh at her, or even snared back at such ridiculous request, but Sakura simple agreed happily.

* * *

The journey should only take a day to arrive by carriage. Hinata didn't have much to pack, so she only brought a few of her personal belongings with her, but also a few potions and medical care just in case. Sasuke on the other hand has his maids' pack all his belongings in several luggages, how many clothes do a man need to wear in 3 days? It also seems like this trip was just the two of them, Kakashi was excused to take over Sasuke'hs paper work temporarily while he's away. The two left the castle before sunrise, Hinata was so excited and nervous she couldn't get a blink of sleep.

"What are you? Still a little kid?" Sasuke sat across her in the carriage with his arms folded.

"I-It's my first time travelling." Hinata blushed in embarrassment.

"Hnnn."

"U-Um…" Hinata hesitated.

"What?"

"W-Would you like some orange?" Hinata offered.

"I'm fine." Sasuke turned away.

As Hinata started peeling off the skin as her soft lips kissed her fruit, she suddenly looked so seductive to Sasuke. As much as he' was trying to look away, his eyes were glued to her. Those long thick eyelashes, rosy pink lips suckle on the juices of the sweet fruit. Sasuke felt the heat rose to his cheeks uncontrollably.

"Um, S-Sasuke?" Hinata called out to him, he was glad she did, who knew what he'll do to her if she didn't.

"What is it now?" he pretended to sound annoyed.

"I-I just wanted to ask, w-why are we going to the country of wind?" Hinata asked.

"It's politics, you don't need to know." Sasuke wasn't in the mood to answer any questions. Hinata thought maybe it's best to stop bothering him, and she continued eating her orange.

"Stop that."

"S-Stop what? " Hinata asked, her fingers brushed her soft lips after swallowing

"That." Sasuke pulled her arms away from her lips, with the loss of balance from the rocky road, he fell towards Hinata. His left arm was supporting his body from crushing the petite female underneath him, and their face just less than an inch away. Sasuke could smell the sweet orange breath from her, it felt somehow irresistible to him. Hinata froze in position, Sasuke was too close to her face. This was the first time she'd seen his face this close. He was indeed beautiful with very captivating eyes she felt nostalgic towards and couldn't look away. It felt like his face was getting closer and closer to her, she could feel his breath on her cheeks.

"You missed a spot." Sasuke whispered into her ear. His fingers brushed past the corner of her mouth, she had some juices of the orange stained by her lips. Sasuke quickly moved back to his seat.

"What a messy eater…You really are a kid." He mocked. Hinata took a long breath out, her face fiery red from embarrassment. The rest of the road trip remained silent till they arrived to the country of wind.

"Welcome, to the country of wind." The duo was greeted by a young man with red short hair and very dark eyes.

"We will be in your care from today, Gaara-sama." Sasuke returned with smirked.

* * *

Sorry for the previous cliffhanger xD I won't tell you the answer just yet ;) I hope you enjoyed this chapter though :D


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